Outsourcing services firms including Serco, Sodexo and MTC/Amey have been approved by the Ministry of Justice as four prisons enter the final procurement phase for private sector management.

Wolds prison was confirmed to have changed management from G4S back to the public sector, following a poor inspectorate report which detailed weaknesses.

The Ministry of Justice said: “This competition process produced a compelling package of reforms for delivering cost reduction, improvements to regimes and a working prisons model in these prisons”.

The move towards private sector management is expected to save £450 million in the next six years.